Kids Lit Quiz Australia 2016

The 2016 program is now out! Here's the announcement from Kids' Lit Quiz Australia's Facebook page:

Letter from South Africa: A Parent's Joyful Discovery

Today's post is a letter from Jo-Ann, a South African mother of a Lit Quiz Kid to Wayne Mills, the founder and quiz-master of the Kids' Lit Quiz. 

Jo-Ann's first experience of the Kids' Lit Quiz captures the joyful discovery that many parents have had revealed to them through the Kids' Lit Quiz; the unexpected pleasure that comes with understanding what makes a Kids' Lit Quiz reader. 

Our thanks to Jo-Ann for her permission to to publish her letter here. I've edited it slightly to protect the privacy of Jo-Ann and her daughter.

To read more about the 2015 South African KLQ competition, see Marj Brown's report at the end of Jo-Ann's letter. You can also read an Australian educator's perspective on the benefits of the Kids' Lit Quiz, in Janine Hudson's piece, Hooked on Reading, in this post.  Finally, there's more "fan mail" from young readers who have enjoyed the Quiz as well as from authors, educators and other amazed parents at this link.

But, first, here's Jo-Ann's  letter.  I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did.

South Africa, 22 July 2015

Dear Prof Mills,

I know that you have many good books to read and questions to compose but I hope that you will have some time for this lengthy letter of thanks. I have delayed sending it so that it won’t seem like the manic mutterings of a recent Kids' Lit Quiz convert. However, even after a respectable wait following the South African final, I find that I am still completely enthused by our experience.

2015 in review by Wayne Mills

In July, following the 2015 Kids' Lit Quiz world final in Connecticut, I asked Wayne Mills how he felt the year, and particularly, the World Final had gone. Here's Wayne's response which I've (finally!) edited to add links, photos and other information to complement Wayne's overview of the 2015 Kids' Lit Quiz World Final.

Quizmaster Wayne Mills at the International Dinner following the Kids' Lit Quiz world final, 8 July 2015.

Hi Linda,

Sorry, I've been hiding away, holidaying in Pong Dang in the north of Thailand so I've been very quiet with my correspondence. It's been very hot but each afternoon is quenched or drenched with  spectacular electrical storms which leave plenty of time for reading (of course!) but also for contemplating the year just passed and for planning next year's program.

Lit Quiz Kids in the News

With the 2015 Kids' Lit Quiz world final just around the corner, on 8 July 2015, the national teams are on their way to Connecticut, USA.

Click to enlarge

What a wonderful adventure they have in store, a timely reminder of the many opportunities that reading brings.  As readers, we always get to travel in our imaginations - even while we have to stay put - but for the kids in the world final teams, their love of reading has also provided this real-life travel opportunity (although, admittedly, the US team doesn't have far to travel this year!)

Here's a wish to all the teams, from Dr Seuss' Oh! the Places You'll Go:

Congratulations!

Today is your day.

You're off to Great Places!

You're off and away! 

After the jump there's an update on who's who at the 2015 world final with links to the news that Lit Quiz kids have been making all around the world:

Life of Pi

Today, 14 March (3/14), is Pi Day,  a day that maths is celebrated around the world. As the official Pi Day site says,

"Pi (Greek letter “π”) is the symbol used in mathematics to represent a constant — the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter — which is approximately 3.14159."

Lots of readers like maths as well as books and maths is important too - readers don't need to choose between two. Just as reading and literacy needs to be celebrated, so too does maths and numeracy.

(2001, Knopf Canada)

But, if like me, "pi" makes you think of the excellent book, Life of Pi, by Yann Martel before you think of 3.14 and other numbers then you can recognise Pi Day by reading!  Being greedy, "pi" also reminds me of "pies"; have a look at this guest post by Goldie Alexander on food in children's literature  and this one on my bookshelf for more book ideas.

If you're in Sydney today, you could also celebrate Pi Day by attending the 2015 Kids' Lit Quiz Australia national final at the Monkey Baa Theatre Company's Lend Lease Darling Quarter Theatre in Darling Harbour. The Final starts at 1 pm and entry is free. See this guest post by Daria O'Neill for more details.

However it is that you recognise Pi Day, whether it be by doing some maths, reading some books or eating some pies, I hope it is a good one for you.  Good luck to all the teams competing today in the 2015 Australian Final.

Terry Pratchett. The End.

"Stories of the imagination tend to upset those without"

The literary world was saddened today to learn of Terry Pratchett's death at the age of 66. Sir Terry suffered from a rare form of Alzheimer's Disease.

Just two days ago, at the ACT heat of the 2015 Kids' Lit Quiz, Wayne Mills told the audience that, if they were going to read one author before attending a KLQ event, they wouldn't go wrong if that author was Terry Pratchett, one of the world's best fantasy writers. 

If you haven't read any Terry Pratchett books, this is the favourite of one 13 year old fan known to me. (2003, Transworld Publishing). He also recommended Mort (1987).

Kung Hei Fat Choi!

That's what we'd say in Hong Kong where the local dialect is Cantonese or, as they say in Mandarin, Gong Xi Fa Cai!  They're both wishes for a prosperous new year. Happy New Year everyone!

The lunar new year display in the Elements shopping centre in Hong Kong

It's the year of the sheep (or if you prefer, the ram or goat) in the Chinese zodiac, starting on 19 February and ending on 7 February 2016.

Not Long Now! 2015 Kids' Lit Quiz Australia

With the UK, US and Canadian competitions already decided and South Africa's about to begin, the 2015 Australian Kids' Lit Quiz is less than a month away!

The Australian team at the 2014 Kids' Lit Quiz world final in Falmouth, Cornwall in July

Australia

Schools in and around Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, Ipswich and Orange should contact Nicole Deans (at kidslitquizaustralia@gmail.com) to register their best readers for the upcoming "sport of reading" tournament. It's a great way to promote literacy in school communities and to celebrate and reward good readers.

The team (of 4 readers aged between 10 and 13 years) which wins the Australian final (to be held at Monkey Baa's fabulous Lend Lease Darling Quarter Theatre in Darling Harbour, Sydney on Saturday, 14 March) is invited to the 2015 World Final, to be held in beautiful Connecticut, USA in July.

Click on the links to find out more about:

the 2015 Australian competition,
how the Kids' Lit Quiz promotes literacy in schools,
what previous participants and educators say about their Kids' Lit Quiz experiences,
Stripes and Stars: 2014 Queensland heat
Kings and Queens, Insects and Mice: 2014 NSW regional heat (Orange)
Cannibalism and other stories: 2014 ACT heat
The day the Kids' Lit Quiz came to south-west Sydney: 2014 Sydney heat
2014 Australian Final 

After the jump there's more information about what's been happening around the world in the 2015 Kids' Lit Quiz - great books are being read everywhere!

Literacy: A passion, a skill set and an asset for life

A huge thank you to Jo Burnell and Kids' Book Review for showcasing Reading for Australia in Kids' Book Review's November newsletter and on the main website. You can subscribe to the newsletter by clicking on this link - it's FREE! - and read the whole article here.

Linda with Sunny, the SPCA rescued dog, enjoying the Canberra spring weather, the roses and some good books

Please contact Nicole Deans at kidslitquizaustralia@gmail.com about the 2015 Australian Quiz and Linda De Silva at readingforaustralia@gmail.com to learn more about Reading for Australia.

Cornwall 2014: Kids' Lit Quiz World Final

It's been a while...

When I wrote my last post over a month ago (on Friday the 13th - in hindsight, an obviously inauspicious date), I did intend to report on the Kids' Lit Quiz world final on 8 July. However, extensive travel over the last month, with often dodgy internet connections and long summery days filled with other happenings, quickly put paid to my good intentions.

I hope that no one has been anxiously waiting for Kids' Lit Quiz news over this last month. But if you have, then wait no longer! Here, at last, is my report on the 2014 World Final in Falmouth, Cornwall earlier this month.

The 2014 World Champion team from the City of London School for Girls

Festival Wrap - May 2014

We now have our New Zealand national team - Congratulations to Awakeri School, a school with a strong Kids' Lit Quiz pedigree, with its 2012 team winning the world final in that year.

The 2014 New Zealand national team

It is not long until the 2014 World Final in Cornwall. Congratulations to all of the national teams:

Australia: Canberra Grammar School
Canada: Royal St George's College, Toronto
New Zealand: Awakeri School
South Africa - St John's Preparatory School, Johannesburg
Singapore - Clementi Primary School
UK - City of London School for Girls
USA  - Sedgwick Middle School, Connecticut

We are confident that you will all be wonderful ambassadors for your schools and countries in 2014. Good luck to you all (but a little extra luck to the Australian team - with love from your families and friends!)

And with that news, it is time to thank everyone for taking part, helping out and, most of all, reading with us over the last few weeks.

We'll take a break for a couple of weeks before the 2014 World Final. I'll still be checking my emails so feel free to write in with comments, book reviews, donations (!!) and other book-related items of interest. The address is: readingforaustralia@gmail.com

After the jump, there's also some information about our fundraiser which not only helps the Australian team get to the world final but also raises funds for some of Australia's most disadvantaged children.

While we think it is important to celebrate our top readers, we - and the top readers themselves - also want to use this opportunity to focus attention on one of Australia's more critical literacy needs - those children who do not have access to literacy resources that many of us take for granted.

Cornwall 2014

There's an exciting program in store for the national teams participating in the 2014 Kids' Lit Quiz world final in Cornwall, England in July.

Not only do they get to "talk books " with each other over the week of the world final but there's also the stunning coastline, the lush landscape and the rich history of Cornwall to absorb in this short time. It's a hard job but someone's got to do it - I expect that, as their country's top readers, they'll be up to the task. Good luck teams!

Pendennis Castle (photo credit)

From Pendennis Castle, the Tudor fortress built by Henry VIII to help protect England from his many European enemies, to the gardens of Glendurgan, with its intriguing maze, the teams will have a wonderful opportunity to explore treasured Cornish landmarks as part of their world final experience.

The 175 year old cherry laurel maze at Glendurgan

You'll find some more of the highlights of the 2014 Kids' Lit Quiz world final program after the jump:

Friday Recap - Week Two

Week Two and lots of interesting things to discover and think about in our first guest authors' posts and loads of new (and old) books to discover too.

Have a look after the jump to see what happened here this week:

Friday Recap - Week One

Welcome to Reading for Australia's third online literary festival!

 

As we did last year, each week's activities are summarised every Friday to make sure that you don't miss anything. With only Wayne's welcome post yesterday and two fabulous kids' book reviews today, there's not much to summarise at this stage although I do recommend that you read those posts if you haven't already. On the other hand, when I think back over the past year, well, there's actually quite a lot to recap.

April 30 was the first anniversary of Reading for Australia (we had intended to go live on 1 May but couldn't figure out how to take down the test run of Wayne's first welcome post... it's been a steep learning curve).  You can read how we set up the site in the very first Friday Recap.

Here are some of the highlights of our first year online:

Anzac Day

Though born from the doomed campaign at Gallipoli, the Spirit of Anzac is not really about loss at all. It is about courage and endurance, duty, love of country, mateship, good humour and a sense of self worth and decency in the face of dreadful odds. (quote of former Governor-General of Australia, Sir William Deane, at the Australian War Memorial's Gallipoli exhibit)

April 25 marks the anniversary of the Gallipoli campaign in 1915, the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces (the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps - ANZAC) in the First World War.

(published by Angus and Robertson, 2008)

The Australian War Memorial's website says that "although the Gallipoli campaign failed in its military objectives, the Australian and New Zealand actions during the campaign left us all a powerful legacy. The creation of what became known as the “Anzac legend” became an important part of the identity of both nations, shaping the ways they viewed both their past and their future."

Introducing some of our new supporters

Preparing for our next online literary festival - starting on May 1, has been wonderful.  Once again, I am awed by the talent and generosity of Australia's best (and busiest) children's and young adult authors who will write guest posts for Reading for Australia during May.

Andy Griffiths with some of his writing journals

It is important to remember that writers make their living from writing - they license their creative efforts to publishers who sell books to readers around the world. Contributing guest author posts is an extraordinarily generous gift of their time and creativity.

Why do they do it?

I think it's because they know and value readers and reading. I've never heard of a writer who was not a reader first. Trevor Darwin of the Kids' Lit Quiz UK says of his experience of the ability of the Kids' Lit Quiz to inspire and involve adults who care about literacy:

Authors too, once introduced to the Quiz, see its enormous potential as a way of generating and nurturing a love of literature and an appreciation of the power of language to imagine, enquire, educate and entertain. In the UK, the Quiz is supported by many of the country’s leading children’s authors who are constantly astounded by the breadth and depth of the knowledge displayed by the kids taking part.

Kids' Lit Quiz: 2014 Australian Final

Five rounds, seven teams and lots of excitement at the 2014 Australian national final on Saturday, 22 March at Mt Annan Christian College in the south-west of Sydney.

Quizmaster Wayne Mills flew in from Auckland with the official buzzers - made by the same people who provided technology for the Lord of the Rings films - and accurate to a 100th of a second. The buzzers were the first indication that the national final would differ from the regional heats of the Kids' Lit Quiz competition.

Cannibalism and Other Stories: ACT 2014

Copyright, William Hall, 2014.  All rights reserved.

"What was the name of the castaway who tells his companion, Friday, that cannibalism is wrong?"

This question, the first of ten in the opening category of "cannibalism", kicked off the 2014 ACT regional heat of the Kids' Lit Quiz competition on Friday, 21 February.  Excited whispers immediately followed as each team conferred on the correct answer and we were up and away in the third heat of the third year of the Kids' Lit Quiz in Australia.  You can read about the short (but glorious!) history of the Kids' Lit Quiz in Australia here.

Who would have have thought so many children's stories would feature cannibals - from Robinson Crusoe to Pippi Longstocking, to Jack and the Beanstalk to The Odyssey?  And who would have thought that so many of the participants would know these stories?  One team scored a perfect 10 out of 10 in this category (as the mother of half that team I'm both proud and a little disturbed that my twin sons appear to be experts on cannibals!)

Remember, there's no reading list because the Kids' Lit Quiz is all about reading for pleasure so the kids participating in the Quiz know the answers from their reading interests and general knowledge, not from swotting. That's what makes the Quiz fun - it really is the sport of reading.  The more you read, the more fun you'll have.

Copyright, William Hall, 2014.  All rights reserved.

It's our turn, Australia!

Friday Update: ACT Regional Heat

The smallest heat in the 2014 Kids' Lit Quiz competition was closely contested with all 8 teams finishing within about 10 points of each other. Congratulations to all participants for a very even and exciting competition.

In first place, Canberra Grammar School's Team 2. Telopea Park High School's Team 3 came second and the team from Canberra Girls Grammar came third. There were fantastic book prizes and lots of high fives for high scores and correct answers to tricky questions. A day of literary fun.

Next up, the 4th and final Australian heat in Sydney on 21 March. The national final will be decided the following day. Schools wishing to participate in the Sydney heat should contact Nicole Deans at kidslitquizaustralia@gmail.com for registration information.

2014 ACT regional champions, Canberra Grammar School's Team 2

 

Wednesday Update:  Orange Regional Heat 

The report on the second heat of the 2014 Australian competition:

Well done to Orange Public School A team for a convincing win at the Orange heat, Kinross Wolaroi School came in second after a sudden death playoff with New Lambton A who came third. A great day was had by all and the results were terrific!

Next, off to Canberra for the ACT regional heat on Friday.

Orange Public School's A team, winners of the 2014 Orange regional heat

 

Tuesday Update:  Ipswich Regional Heat 

We have our first result in the 2014 Australian competition. Here's the report:

Heat one is over, a great day had by all at Ipswich, well done to Bulimba in first place, Wilston State School in second and Sacred Heart in third. Well done all!

All very excited about the Orange heat tomorrow!

2014 Queensland regional champions, Bulimba State School

More Kids' Lit Quiz News

from South Africa.  Australia's turn NEXT week!

Durban Heat

Published in The Witness, 12 February 2014.  Written by Stephen Coan, Photo by Ian Carbutt

 

 Pietermaritzburg Heat

Published in The Witness, 14 February 2014.  Photo by Jonathan Burton

It's the South African final in Cape Town on Saturday, following the Knysna and Cape Town heats today.   Good luck to all the teams!

The Australian competition starts on Tuesday in Ipswich.  Can't wait!